Don't Mess with Magic
by Pirate Cap'n Spazz
Summary: What happens when a girl plays with magic and pulls a time traveling witch into her bedroom? Bad mojo, that's what. Now she has to try and survive in an insane world where fighting is the only way to survive...!
1. Misadventure Begins

**Don't Mess with Magic**

I was home alone when I decided that I would try to summon something small. You know, a little faerie. Maybe a salamander. Anyway, I made my circle, I went out and got all the materials that I would need (_no,_I'm not telling you what they were,) and I set to my work.

I thought I chanted the proper words, but apparently I didn't. From the middle of my circle a light was starting to form. I got excited, I couldn't believe it actually worked! The light grew larger and started to turn red. _Oh, it must be a salamander,_ I thought. Much to my dismay, the light _kept growing._ It grew until it was the size of a person hunched over.

Once the light cleared, there was a woman in red pleather lying on my floor. _What the fuck did I just summon?!_ I was panicking, I forgot to look up the banishing spell and she was starting to wake up! What was I going to do?!

"Where am I?" the woman demanded.

"Ah! Uhm, m-my house," I replied, my voice was shaking, hell, _I_ was shaking!

The woman smiled. That calmed me down a bit. I actually thought she was kind of pretty.

"And where would that be, kiddo?"

"Shelbyville, Illinois."

The woman blinked. She looked confused, and then angry. She pulled out a guitar from Lord knows where and pointed it at me.

"Don't play games with me," she said darkly.

I gulped. "I-I'm not," I stuttered. _Why would she think-_ I smacked my forehead. "Fuck."

"I think you are. Now tell me where I am," she hissed.

I felt my cheeks flushed. "I'm not messing with you! I have no reason to!"

The woman sighed. "Whatever, I just want to leave. Now."

"Let me just find the banishing spell then," I mumbled, flipping through my book. Apparently she got curious and started to look over my shoulder. "What _are_ you, by the way? I won't be able to send you back unless I know."

There was a pause. What? Didn't she know what she was?

"Aha," she said slowly. "Now I know what happened. While I was going through the time stream, you pulled me here. What year is this?"

It was my turn to blink in confusion. "Uhm, 2007. Why?"

She cursed under her breath, I guess. "I went too far back."

"Too far back?" I repeated. "You're a... _Time traveler?"_

She smiled. "Would you like to come with?" Now I could see her canines. They were _really_ pointy.

"Uhm... I don't know, wouldn't that mess something up? Somehow?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, it's just a lie the governments made up so you wouldn't try to make you life better, or something," she laughed. I decided right then and there that she was crazy beyond any reasoning. "So? Do you want to come or not?"

"Eeh..." I stood thinking. Did I really want to leave my home for some unknown future? Would this really be safe? Would I ever be able to get home?! Before I could properly reply, the crazy woman grabbed my wrist and pulled me through this crazy purple-ish red thing in the middle of my room.

I felt like I was on a drug trip. All sorts of colors and lights flew around me. Greens turned into reds turned into oranges turned into white, blinding lights. I thought I was going to hurl on more than one occasion. It felt like we were flying, and then just floating, and after that, like we were underwater, and finally back to that flying sensation. I looked forward, towards my insane companion and saw a white light at the end of this thing. _Oh, thank the gods!_ I thought. I couldn't take much more of this!

Once we were through that white light, I fell face-first into grass. I nearly cried, I was so happy to get out of that thing! Then my stomach flipped on itself and I blew chunks on that beautiful, solid grass.

"Happens to all first-timers," the woman smiled, rubbing my back. "Don't worry, it won't last long."

I hope she meant the sickness. After I was done, I rolled onto my back and stared at the sky. Good, it's the same blue as home's sky.

"Where are we?" I croaked.

"Almost late," she sounded worried. "I'll be back! Do not move!"

"Way to sound like my mom!" I think I called after her, I don't remember things too well when I throw up. That's why I'm not sure if she was flying over the side of the cliff or what.

I stayed on my back for a while, I wanted to just let my stomach rest. I sat up and freaked out when I smelled smoke, though. _Shit,_ I thought, _how the hell am I supposed to stay here when the forest is on fire?!_ Well, it wasn't, thank the gods. I looked over the side where she... flew off... and saw a factory on fire.

"Jesus Christ!" I groaned. Where is that crazy lady? "How long do I hafta sit here?"

"Don't worry, I'm done here anyway."

* * *

**Author's Note:** What the hell is this? A fanfic? From _me?_ Jesus Christ, this thing has been sitting on my hardrive for a year now. Still working on it, so I thought I should post what I have. Hopefully I'll go through with this and finish it! I told myself that I would post it after I finished it, but posting it may give me that incentive to finish. Hope you liked it! 


	2. Disaster

**Don't Mess with Magic**

I was dragged onto my feet and into another drug trip. What did I do to deserve this? Oh yeah, I messed with magic. I kept my eyes closed this time. I did _not_ want to make myself puke again, it sucked that I did in the first place. We stopped again.

"OK, wait here for me?" the woman in red smiled at me.

"Where am I this time?" I demanded.

"Somewhere safe," she replied. "I'll be right back."

I nodded, there wasn't anything for me to do about it, either.

This time, I was in a room. With a couch. I laid down and let my stomach settle. I guess I still wasn't used to time traveling. Anyway, next to the couch was a coffee table and across the room was a small TV on a stand. _I wonder if I'm at her place?_ I thought as I was looking around.

"Huzzah! A kitchen!" I smiled triumphantly as I shuffled to the small room. And then I cursed when there was nothing in it. "Why are the gods being so cruel to me, today?!"

"Because you're paling around with the Devil," I heard the woman say from behind me.

"Who are you? I just realized I came all this way without even knowing your name!" I confessed. "You're not really the Devil... Are you?"

She laughed. "No, no, I'm not the Devil," she stifled her laughing. "I'm I-No."

"I'm Jessica," I shook her hand. "Just... Where am I now?"

"My place," she said quite simply. "But I need you to come with me."

I didn't have time to reply as she grabbed me again and dragged me out the door and down a few flights of stairs. We were in some sort of city, going north, down an alley. I really hope she's not some sort of time traveling female pimp. That would suck, big time.

"Turns out I need a magic user," I-No said once we stopped.

"What would you need me for?"

"I have a problem with... an associate of mine. He's been very rude and unruly and magic is the only way to take him down. He's too tough for a physical attack," she told me.

"I-I don't think I could do that. I don't know the guy, and I'm not very good with magic."

I-No's smiling face turned into a scowl as she swung her guitar at me! I screamed and fell back. It felt like I threw something at her, and when I opened my eyes... She was putting out a purple fire on her jacket.

"Can't use magic, huh?" her smile came back. "And you use fire, that's good. Give him a taste of his own medicine."

She looked mad when she said that. Was she trying to get rid of an old boyfriend or something? I didn't want to be dragged into some lovers' quarrel. Especially one that involves magic.

Unfortunately, I kept following her. She stopped in front of a different apartment building. It looked kind of old and shabby, but that didn't stop her from going in. When I hesitated, she came back out and dragged me in.

"He's on the third floor. I'll surprise him and I want you to throw the biggest, deadliest fireball you can at him," she looked at me square in the eye.

"Ah..." I couldn't reply, she was all ready going up the stairs. _She's crazy! She's insane! _I was thinking, when I tripped on my skirt. I-No didn't even notice. I grabbed the damn thing and ran up the rest of the stairs as she kicked the door down.

"The fuck?" I heard a masculine voice demand.

"You're time is up, Badguy!" I-No shrieked, running into the apartment.

I was right behind her, trying to form another fireball when I heard I-No gasp and I saw a man holding her by the throat. He was tall, I-No was off the ground. He had long, brown hair, red and white clothes and a large red headband.

The little flame I had went out when he looked at me. His eyes... Gods, they terrified me, they made me freeze. One was as gold as the sun and the other was as red as blood. I stood there like an idiot as he dropped I-No and walked towards me. He was at least two heads taller than me. His eyes... His eyes held me there frozen. Gods, the way he looked at me still makes me shiver.

"You with her?" he asked, his voice was very cold. I couldn't answer. He kept staring at me, but he was talking to I-No. "Picking up children now, witch?"

"She's strong, Badguy! I'll use her to kill you!" she said from the floor.

I blinked. "What?! I don't – I don't want to kill anybody!"

"Then _leave,"_ the man practically growled. I couldn't move, no matter how I tried.

"Useless," I heard I-No growl. I heard a guitar being strummed, and the next thing I know, that cold, angry looking man was holding me, keeping away from I-No and her guitar.

She kept strumming and red spikes of lightning kept coming at us. The man pushed me to the side and turned back to I-No. He let her hit him with the lightning. _She was telling the truth!!_ I thought, absolutely terrified. He kept walking towards her and grabbed the guitar. He yanked it from her and smacked her with it.

I shrieked when he did, it was such a sickening sound, I wanted to throw up again. I hunched over, preparing myself for it when I was pulled back up by my collar.

"We're leaving," the man grunted and started dragging me backwards towards the stairs.

"Hey – Wait!" I tried struggling, but he was too strong, he kept going on. I saw I-No laying on the floor, unconscious and there was blood around her head. "I-NO!!"

"Shut up. That witch could care less if you were alive," he said. "She called you useless, she would've killed you along with me if she _could_ kill me."

I stopped struggling. Was he right? Or was _he_ going to kill me? Was I-No dead?

He let go of me. "Walk," he said, going down the stairs. I grabbed my skirt and followed quietly. I guess I was in shock. She was nice to me, but she _did_ call me useless. Would she really have killed me?


	3. Confusion

**Don't Mess With Magic**

_Chapter Three_

I followed the man in a daze, my mind just kept replaying what happened over and over. Reason told me to stop, to run away, but I just kept after the man.

Out of no where, a sob escaped my throat. I felt dizzy; I sat down in the middle of the sidewalk and just started crying. A few people stared as I cried and that man kept walking. I took a deep breath and ran after him, trying to stop crying by the time I caught up with him.

But he was gone. He must have turned down a side street or something. My heart skipped a beat and I got cold all over. _Oh, gods... Now I'm really lost..._ I had a huge lump in my throat and my eyes were burning with unreleased tears.

"What am I going to do now?" I whined. I rested my forehead on the building next to me. My mind was blank, all I could think of was that man's cold eyes and how I-No looked after he hit her. I shuddered. Maybe it was better that I lost him....

I leaned against the building and slid down until I was sitting. I have to think about what I'm going do about getting home. I could go back and see if I could force I-No to take me home, but she's probably all ready gone or dead.

_Well, that guy's place is a good place to start as any,_ I thought. Hell, even if I-No wasn't there maybe the door's still open and I could swipe some food or money? I tried retracing my steps, but I didn't pay attention to where I was going when I was following that man. _Fuck,_ I groaned. _Now where am I? This place doesn't even look remotely familiar!_

I slapped my forehead and sat om the curb. My feet were hurting, it was getting dark, and I was getting hungry. I sat there, wallowing in self pity when I was hit in the back of the head.

"Where the fuck did you go?" a deep voice growled behind me. I turned and it was that man. I blinked stupidly at him as he dragged me to my feet. "I asked you a question."

"I... I... I got lost," I squeaked. Ugh, I wish he'd stop looking at me like that. "I didn't... I... I..."

"Feh," he spat at the ground and started walking off, this time dragging me by my arm. Despite my protests (and the stares) we kept going. Nothing was looking familiar to me. It was all just buildings and cars, like when you watch a movie and don't pay attention to where the actors are at.

We finally stop and the brute let go of my arm. I almost doubled over from the lack of oxygen and the pain in my stomach. It growled and I went crimson in the face. Sure, I haven't eaten since this morning but I wasn't about to be not embarrassed by the sound.

Before I knew it, the man had grabbed my wrist and was leading me through the doors of a small building. I've given up on caring about being dragged around like a child. It was easier to just go with it.

The place was smoky, gross, and had way too many smells to be good. The man practically shoved me into a booth and disappeared into the foggy haze. I sighed and rubbed my wrist and wondered where I was. Maybe he was going to sell me? Make some cash and force me into prostitution? I shuddered. I would _not_ appreciate that. _What if he's going to kill me?_ The thought stole into my mind and I went cold.

What if he was? Then what? If I thought I-No was strong, this fucker could take my head off with a single punch. This time I shuddered with the cold. Before I could elaborate any more on those thoughts, he came back.

"We're leaving."

"What? Didn't we just get here?"

He glared and I shut my trap and just fell in line behind this guy. Once we were out in fresh air again, he pushed me towards a man in a black coat and hat. _Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!!!!_ My mind was racing a mile a minute. _He really _is _gunna sell me!!_

"Sol, are you sure?" the blond man scratched his head and looked me over from the tops of his sunglasses. "Will she fit in with the other girls?"

"Fuck if I know or care," replied the brute, Sol. "I just need her stowed away until I can find the Witch."

"What's going on?" I turned towards Sol with a hand on my hip, trying to look pissy, although I probably just looked silly. "What the _fuck_ are you doing?"

Sol narrowed his eyes at me. "You are going with him," he pointed at the blond. "That's what's going on. Meanwhile I'm going to look for that Witch. That's what the _fuck_ I'm doing."

He turned on his heel and walked away. The blond guy rested his elbow on my shoulder and whistled. "Well, little girl, looks like you've pissed him off."

"That's not very hard to do, is it?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but this high pitched wail exploded into the air and something orange tackled him. It seemed to be screaming... Johnny?

* * *

**Author's Note:** Wow, it has been almost forever since I've written a chapter for this. My hard drive died at some time last year and I lost the first draft of this chapter and I couldn't figure out how I wanted the story to progress, but now I have a slight idea and this chapter came out rather smoothly. Hope you guys are liking it, I'm trying my best! XD It's been a long while since I've written anything.


	4. A Small Break

**Don't Mess with Magic**

_Chapter 4_

It took me a moment, but the orange mass stopped moving and it turned out to be a little girl. OK, so she was barely shorter than me, but her voice had me fooled. 'Johnny' stood up with the orange clad girl latched onto his waist and glaring at me.

"Johnny, who's this?" the girl asked looking up at the blonde man.

"This is... Ah... Well, what is your name?" he asked me, looking me over from the top of his sunglasses.

"Jessica," I mutter in reply. I suddenly feel tired and sit back down. The day must be catching up to me.

"Jessica, right. Sol asked us to watch over her for a bit, May," Johnny finished, detaching the girl, May, from his side.

I made a small shriek and looked around for Sol, realizing that he left. _There's no way I'm staying with these people!_ I thought. Granted these two might be nicer than that jerk but at least I know he can keep me safe. I spotted him a few blocks down and started after him.

"Oh! Hey! Girlie! Wait, what're you doing!" I heard Johnny call after me.

"Wait uuuup!!" I shrieked. He still wouldn't stop. "Oh my God, why's he walking that fast?"

"OK, kiddo. Let's get going, he's made up his mind and he's not going to come back until he's good and ready."

"But..."

"Why would you run away from _us?_ Sol's the mean one!" May giggled. "We'll take good care of you, better than that mean ole Sol."

Defeated, I nod and let myself be lead to where ever it is that we're going. I ended up at a big hunk of metal that May told me is their ship. I barely paid attention as she excitedly gave me a tour. All I can think about is being abandoned like that and wondering why I'm so bothered by it.

"Jess? "Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeess? Are you even listening to me?" May poked me in the side and made me jump.

"I.. I'm sorry, it's been a _long_ day."

"Let's get you to the guest room then."

May took me down yet another hallway and we pass yet another girl named after a month. _How do you get the name October?_ I can barely keep moving, let alone keep a thought in my head. She opened a door and ushered me in. I hate to say it, but I stopped listening to her. I thought I heard her say something about a bathroom but I waved her off and collapsed onto the bed.

That bed was the best thing to have happened to me all day. I literally peeled off my socks and threw them into the corner. The bottoms were pitch black and had one too many holes for my liking. I was damn happy to be rid of them.

The door whooshed open and May stuck her head in. "You're filthy," she said, wrinkling her nose at me.

"And?"

"Get up, I'm taking you to the bathroom!"

Before I can protest, this little monster pulled me off my bed by my wrist and was forcibly dragging me down more nondescript hallways. She shoved me into another room. There was a large mirror and sinks in front of me, to my left were shower stalls and to the right toilets.

"You. Are. _Filthy!_" May proclaimed once again as she stalked over to a shower stall and started it up.

"Hey. Hey! What're you doing?" I try to fend off her grabby hands. "I can undress myself!!"

Apparently I couldn't, however, since May saw fit to finish undressing me and pushing me into the shower. _Freakish girl. How'd she get strength like that?! _I was feeling like I was in over my head even more so with these people than Sol, which didn't make much sense. Here all the girls were friendly and wanted to take care of me.

"Hey, Jess, I'mma throw out this stuff and get you something from my closet. 'Kay?"

_What?!" _ I shrieked poking my head out from behind the curtain to glare at the little monster.

"Look at this thing," she held up my shirt. "It's got caked on puke all over it. It won't come out in the wash."

I groaned and retreated back into the shower. _I wish I was back in that bed,_ I thought-whined while leaning against the shower stall.

I must have fallen asleep because next thing I know, the bathroom door slams open and the water is cold.. My curtain is pulled back and a towel is thrown into my face. These girls here are _really_ comfortable with themselves.

"You're only a little taller, so you should fit in this," May held up a mass of clothing. It looked like it might be a sailor outfit.

I was led back to my room and made a mental note of the way to and from the bathroom. It was a sailor outfit. It wasn't too bad, I would have liked this more if I was still fourteen but beggars can't be choosers, right?


	5. Attacked

**Don't Mess With Magic**

_Chapter 5_

I was just about comfortable when May came back in. I suppressed a groan and sat up. She plopped onto the bed beside me and handed me a pair of shoes.

"I hope they fit," she smiled. "I'll be damned if Sol takes better care of you than we do."

"To be honest, I was only with him for about an hour, if that," I replied, wiggling my toes in the shoes. "I was dragged around by I-No most of the day, that's really how I got dirty. Sol kinda... Rescued me, I guess."

"I-No?" May's expression was dark. "No wonder Sol wanted you tucked away."

"Is she really that bad?"

"She knocked one of our crew members off the side of the ship," she pulled her knees to her chest.

"Holy shit! Really?"

"Yeah. She's OK She's got wings so there really wasn't any danger," May waved. "It was just really scary."

We sat in an awkward silence for a moment. I was going to say something when the ship lurched and threw May into me. She jumped up, told me to stay put and ran out of the room as a siren started blaring. I wanted to follow her, but I had no idea what to do, or how to do anything on an air ship! All I could do was sit in the corner and hope we land OK

After a few minutes of self loathing I gather the courage to go see what's going on. My hand barely touches the handle when it's kicked in. I fly back onto my butt and stare in disbelief and horror. Standing in the doorway is I-No, and she looked fine. Her face twisted into a horrifying smile once her eyes rested on me.

"Ah, so you are here," she chuckled, striding towards me.

A cold fear stole over my heart. Her eyes were dead and looked like they were intent to kill. They were like Sol's eyes, but different somehow. I backed away as far as I could from her until I hit the wall. I wanted to scream, to get up and run, but I was frozen in place, my voice was lost. Those emerald eyes were so, so cold.

"Where is he?" she murmured. When I didn't answer she thrust her guitar into my shoulder. "I said _where is he?"_

"Wh-Who?" I cringed.

"You know damn well!" she screamed at me, pulling my hair so I would look her straight in the eye. "Where is Sol Badguy?"

I winced as she shrieked at me. "I don't know!" I whimpered. She let go of my hair with a growl. Next thing I realize, she's unstrung one of the strings of her guitar and wrapped it around my neck. The metal was cold, and bit into my neck with an unforgiving ferocity. I meant to scream but all that came out was a gurgle. I clawed at my neck as my air was slowly being being cut off.

"You don't know? You honestly think I'll believe that piece of horse shit?"

"It's the truth!" I somehow managed to get out. I think my fingertips were starting to bleed. At least I hoped it was my fingertips. "He went looking for you!"

She made a disapproving sound and tightened the cord ever s slightly. "Sure he is. He left you here, kiddo. And now you're going to die."

Tears started welling up in my eyes and I felt myself starting to panic. _Is this really it? I'm going to _die_?! _ I thought. My mind was racing a mile a minute. How's she going to do it? Is she going to suffocate me? Take my head off with the guitar string?

I-No smiled and pulled the string up, forcing me to my knees. "I bet you wish you had some control over that fire, don't you?" she smirked. "That's honestly too bad, you had potential.

I stared at I-No like she was crazy. _My fire? My fire!_ I thought maniacally. I was panicking more and more, franticly willing the fire to my fingertips, maybe I could burn this cord off? Or would I just burn myself horribly? I didn't really give the latter much thought. I just wanted to breathe again.

I-No cried out and I felt the string loosen greatly. The purple flames did spark, much to my relief, and traveled up the string and onto her guitar, bursting it into flames. I tore the cord off my neck and the sprinkler system kicked in, dousing the tiny fire. I-No growled at me, I took that as my cue to get the fuck out of there.

My neck hurt, was most likely bleeding, and my shoulder hurt, but I didn't stop until I found someone – anyone. I was sure I-No was on my tail, I wasn't looking where I was going when I ran right into someone. I screamed when they grabbed my shoulders and held me straight. I opened my eyes and it was only Johnny.

"Holy shit, girl! You're a mess! What happened?" he had an incredulous look on his face.

"She-She's here! She's after me!" I pointed down the corridor behind me.

"'She' who? Slow down," he said firmly. "Whoa, where'd you get that nasty mark on your neck?"

"I-No!" I croaked out. Any mirth was wiped out instantly from Johnny's face.

"I-No?" he repeated darkly. "She's on the ship?"

I nodded vigorously and then winced. "Right, come with me, I'm taking you to the infirmary, Dizzy is there and you'll be safe with her. Where did you see her?"

"M-My room," I stammered. My neck was _really_ starting to hurt now.

"All right. Let's get you somewhere safe."

* * *

Okie doke! It's been, what? All most forever since I've last updated? Well, here are two (short) chapters for you! Hopefully I can keep writing. I also hope that I'm not making Jessica very Mary Sue-ish. :/

So I have a direction that I want the story to go into, and I'm going to try to not throw in GG characters just for the sake of them having an appearence. If they have anything to do with the story, then they'll be in here..

And just a side note, my 'o' key likes to short out every now and then, so if it's missing, that's why. Lawl.


	6. Infirmary

Odin's Beard it's been another year since an update. I'm an ass. As an apology, this chapter is longer than the others and I hope to keep it at a four page minimum. I've gotten interest in Guilty Gear again (mostly 'cuz Sol is a sexy bitch) and I want to try and get out as much for this fic as I can before my next year long break.

Honestly, I did not think it was a year since I last updated. I know how frustrating it can be to wait for a fanfic to update. That's why I try to find finished ones to read. Oh hohohoho~!

Well, hopefully you guys'll like this chapter, thanks for reading!

* * *

**Don't Mess with Magic**

_Chapter Six_

Johnny lead me down a few hallways, always looking behind him. I was starting to feel a little dizzy, but Johnny had his arm around me and kept me going. We stopped at a door and he tried opening it. It wouldn't budge so he start banging on it.

"Hey! You guys! It's Johnny! Let me in, I've got Jessica and she's hurt!"

While he was banging on the door and yelling my head really started to swim. I couldn't concentrate on Johnny's voice and I felt like the air was knocked out of me. I sat against the wall with my head back focusing on breathing for the moment. Then I got really tired. _I can't fall asleep,_ I thought. _I might not wake up._

"Hey, Jessica?" I thought I heard my name. I think whoever it was said my name again but I couldn't move my head. I wanted to yawn but I was just too tired.

When I woke up my head was throbbing and my mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. I also sat up too quickly and all the blood rushed to my head. The lights were too bright and the mattress I was on was too lumpy.

"Where am I?" I groaned.

"The sick bay," a cheerful, girlish voice answered. I stopped rubbing my eyes for a moment and found the owner of the voice. She had blue hair, wings, and red eyes. They reminded me of Sol's eye and I'm not sure why, like they're the same shade of red or something. "How're you feeling?"

"Better, I guess," I replied. "Is... Is I-No gone?"

A look came across the girl's face but passed quickly. "Yes," she finally replied. "Let me take another look at your neck. She got you good."

I was in no condition to argue and let the girl do her work. Her fingertips brushed against my neck lightly, they barely felt like they were there. She made a disapproving click and bustled off to a cabinet. I found myself staring at her wings. One was snow white and the other was coal black. _This must be the girl May was talking about, _I thought. _Is she the Dizzy Johnny mentioned? _She turned back around with a roll of bandages in one hand and a brown bottle in the other. She set the things on the little table next to me and pulled out a bag of cotton balls from a drawer near by.

"So you're the girl Mr. Sol asked us to take care of?" she sounded like she was trying to make conversation.

"You could say that," I replied, my eyes never leaving the brown bottle. It looked suspiciously like hydrogen peroxide... "He more so forced me on you guys."

The girl smiled while soaking the cotton ball in the liquid from the brown bottle. "Now, this may hurt a bit..."

I was right! It was hydrogen peroxide! It burned like hell and she had to put that stuff all around my neck. Yip-ee. She quickly and lightly wrapped my neck back up and I had to keep myself from touching it as the stinging died down.

"I'm Dizzy by the way," she mentioned while she was cleaning up. "Your name is... Jessica, right?"

I nodded. "Thanks for uhm.." I just waved at my neck. "I don't mean to be a bother."

"Oh, don't worry about it," she smiled. "I just don't know how we're going to explain this to Mr. Sol. He asked us to keep you safe and look what happened! I hope he doesn't get _too_ mad and take me too."

'Take me too'? Was she left here, abandoned, like I was? I try to hug my knees to my chest but I can't move my shoulder very well. _That's right, my shoulder._ I sighed and rubbed my shoulder gently. This is a fine mess that I had gotten myself into. What would Sol do when he comes to get me? If he comes to get me?

"I want you to rest up before the rest of the crew hears that you're doing better and parades in here," Dizzy giggled.

"Ugh, with my shoulder hurting I don't plan on moving," I grumbled and propped myself up on some pillows.

"Well, I'll leave you to rest for a bit," she sighed and closed the door behind her.

I was alone in this large, white, antibacterial room. It gave me the heeby jeebies. I've never liked hospitals and this place reminded me of one. Smelled like one too. I began thinking, I need to defend myself, I can't always rely on someone to save me. Especially with I-No determined to kill me.

I held out my hand and concentrated on my palm, willing the fire to ignite. I was getting a headache from staring so intently at my hand but finally it sparked. I had a small ball of flame in the palm of my hand and a smile crept across my face. I closed my fist and extinguished it. I opened my hand again and willed the fire to spark again.

It took less time the second time around and even less the third time, although it was still taking me several minutes to get a small ass flame. I would have kept it up, but I heard the door open and I was startled out of my concentration.

It was just like how Dizzy said it would be. Each and every one of the crew came in, wishing me luck, apologizing, hoping I get better. It was really nice, I really appreciated all the hugs and kind words. May and Johnny were the last ones through and May looked like she'd been crying. Her eyes were all puffy and bloodshot.

"May?" I leaned forward, trying to get a look at her face. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," she sniffled. "B-But, Sol really did take better care of you! I'm a horrible hostess!"

Johnny pinched the bridge of his nose as May threw her arms around me and cried. I had to keep myself from laughing a bit at her. She was worked up over that?

"You look better," Johnny commented. "You scared the shit out of me when you passed out like that. If you'd have croaked Sol would have eaten me."

"He can't be _that_ protective of me," I rolled my eyes as I patted May's back. "I've barely known him for a few days. If you even want to call it that."

Johnny shrugged. "He's just like that when it comes to cute girls. He brought us Dizzy and comes and checks on her every so often. Nearly took my head off when she fell off the ship."

"He did not!" Dizzy was standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips. "You're exaggerating!"

Johnny shrugged, smiling the entire time. Dizzy soon shooed the two out of the room and then left herself, saying she wanted me to keep up on my rest. I've been here an hour, awake at least, I think I'm resting. As soon as I was sure she was gone, I went back to practicing my fire.

This time I tried playing with the size of the flame. At first it was tiny, a little ball in the palm of my hand. At first I didn't notice a change in size, but before I knew it, the ball of fire was the size of my palm. I wanted to see if I could start the flame at that size.

That was a no go. A half hour had passed and I wasn't able to get the flame back to that size, in fact it was getting smaller! "Maybe I should stop?" I sighed. My eyes were getting tired and I just realized how fatigued I really was. Maybe doing this right after I had woken up wasn't such a good idea?

I was in the sick bay for a couple more days before Dizzy would let me be moved to one of the bedrooms. She seemed really fussy about it, like she was overly worried about germs or something. By that time I didn't really need a wrap around my neck, it was all scabbed and healing nicely. Or so Dizzy kept telling me.

I finally was able to get a look at my shoulder, too. It had a nasty bruise and it grossed me out to even look at it! I would check it everyday. At first it was so purple it was almost black and now it's turning a little red. I wonder what other colors it'll turn?

"You're looking at it again?" Dizzy sounded a little disgusted.

"Yeah. I just wish I had a camera to keep track of the progression," I pouted. "What color do you think it'll turn next?"

"Probably green," she stuck out her tongue. "I wanted to tell you something."

"What's that?" I rolled my sleeve back down, I was done playing with my bruise.

"We've been looking for Mr. Sol," my heart skipped a beat. "We've found him and we're going to pick him up."

"O-oh. Uhm," I stammered. I was suddenly afraid and I'm not even sure why. Just the thought of having those eyes glare at me made me cold all over.

"Jessica, are you ok?" Dizzy placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're shaking."

"I'm fine," I managed to get out. "Sol just... Scares me, I guess. I'm nervous about seeing him."

Dizzy gave me a warm smile. "Understandable. At least you didn't have to fight him."

I just stared at her as she excused herself. My mind was having a tough time processing what she had just said.


End file.
